


To Go Home

by assetbucky



Series: How Far We've Come [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ADHD Lance (Voltron), Autistic Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Has ADHD, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Trans Female Pidge | Katie Holt, Trans Keith (Voltron), Trans Pidge | Katie Holt, Trans Shiro (Voltron), autistic author, nonbinary author, trans author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2019-01-18 02:44:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12379254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assetbucky/pseuds/assetbucky
Summary: It was only another two years before they’d taken down all the bases and ships. Some Galra surrendered, some actually joined the Blade of Marmora once they didn’t have to face the consequences from Haggar. The remaining occupied quadrants were sparsely populated by Galra, and it wasn’t hard to take them down. They’d found Sam Holt a year in, and he’d been working with them ever since.Those two years brought the time since they’d last visited Earth up to five years. All of them were going home, this time for good.-You can find me at transmarmora on tumblr!





	1. Chapter 1

It was only another two years before they’d taken down all the bases and ships. Some Galra surrendered, some actually joined the Blade of Marmora once they didn’t have to face the consequences from Haggar. The remaining occupied quadrants were sparsely populated by Galra, and it wasn’t hard to take them down. They’d found Sam Holt a year in, and he’d been working with them ever since.

Those two years brought the time since they’d last visited Earth up to five years. Hunk and Lance were 24, Pidge 22, Keith 25 and towering over all of them. They were all definitely taller than they’d been before, but nobody else had gained a full foot in height and then some. He’d gained some bulk too, the increased testosterone in his system combined with the increase in hormones from his Galra half making it infinitely easier to gain muscle. His hair was fully white now, and not much shorter than Allura’s.

All of them were going home, this time for good. 

 

Pidge landed Green the same place she had the last time. “I told Mom that I was gonna bring you guys home. It’s been five years since she saw any of us now, and before that she thought I was dead for two years.” She looked at Matt just for a second. “I also told Austin. He asked where I’d been, I couldn’t lie to him.” She landed, let Sam and Matt off, and quickly changed into one of her dresses before getting off, activating the remote cloaking, then grabbing their hands and running towards the house.

“Colleen?”

“Mom?”

There was a loud thump upstairs, and the sound of heavy, fast footsteps. She’d clearly literally dropped whatever she was doing, and soon enough Colleen ran into them, pulling all three into a hug.

“Told you I’d bring them back, Mom.” Pidge was quiet, and all four of them were crying. The whole family was together again.

“I know you did, sweetie.” She stepped back and looked at them all, taking in what she saw.

Sam had the least change about him. He was clearly more worn out than he had been before, and his hair was a bit longer, but that was the only change. Matt looked a lot older. He’d been 18 when they left for Kerberos, and was 29 now. An easily visible scar on his face was sure to just be one of many. And she saw in both Matt and Katie something she hoped she would never have to see in her children - the eyes of a soldier. Katie also looked obviously older, and considerably more like the way she’d always thought of herself.

“I’m so proud of you. Saving the universe, finding your father, finding each other…”

“I promised, Mom. And a Holt never breaks a promise.”

“I still can’t believe my little sister is a legend. Made cloaking! Mom, she made _functional cloaking_. By herself.”

Pidge smiled a little. “Well, we should probably get everyone together before we start talking about what happened.” She texted Austin, and he was there in 10 minutes.

Matt looked up as Austin opened the door, immediately getting up and running over to him.

“Matty…” Austin stared, smiling a little. “Nine years. Katie told me what happened…”

Matt smiled and hugged him. “Yeah, well she’s the only reason we’re still here. My little sister, saving the universe.”

“Well you gotta tell me what’s been going on with you. This has got to be interesting.”

Matt went and sat down, leaning against Austin. He started telling stories about what had been happening when he was originally captured, things even Pidge hadn’t heard yet. He re-told the story when Shiro kept him from gladiatorial combat, lifting up his pants leg to show the scar. 

“Y’know, most of these have sad stories behind them. Except the ones that are dumb shit like I forgot the artificial gravity was on, but that’s not important. This one saved my life. There was no way I was gonna win in the arena, and Shiro saved me. I was bedridden for weeks, even with their advanced medicine. Then Te-Osh broke me out. I worked with the rebels for about five years, loading and unloading cargo whenever they were on the planet I was stationed on, but I was at a communications outpost.”

He explained essentially all of what had happened up to the point Pidge found him. “Then this shipment comes in, and I’m just there talking to Te-Osh about where stuff goes and how much we’re gonna need still, and I hear my name. Pidge runs into me full force and we both almost end up flat on our asses.”

From there, Pidge took over telling the story. How over the next two years, they took out every main Galra, the biggest stations, and left them scattered. It wasn’t horribly long before Matt fell asleep on Austin, Pidge only still going because she was actually talking. After awhile of talking, as she kept explaining, she reached over and nudged Matt, who woke up and looked around for a moment.

“Thanks.” he mumbled, turning to get comfortable again and closing his eyes.

Colleen and Austin both looked first at him, then at her.

“Nightmares. Not too bad as long as they’re interrupted early. I learned signs of ‘em really fast after we got him back.” Nobody knew what to say to that, so Pidge interrupted the silence by continuing the story.

“... and now we’re back here. Anyone can still call for Voltron if they need to, but it’ll only be more minor things, y’know? Specific violence, requesting an escort somewhere, things like that. We’d be gone for probably a week maximum.”

Austin had been staring down at Matt for the past hour. “Hey, Katie? Y’know how you said you learned the signs? I’m gonna need to know those.” He brushed Matt’s hair out of his face, a small smile on his own.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earlier in the series, I had some kids calling Hunk "Sara" as a way to make fun of his full name. In this chapter, I have his moms and sister call him "Sara" as a nickname. In this case, it's pronounced as it is in his full name, with soft 'a's, and as a way to give him a neutral nickname - one that is both a shortening of his full name, which is masculine, and a girls name, Sara.

Hunk couldn't be ready for this. Five more years that he was gone. Mika might have found somebody else - he sure as hell didn't expect him to wait five years. Naomi was 23 now and had probably gone off to college.

He got to the house late at night and let himself in. They'd agreed that when he came back, he had to tell them, even if it meant waking everyone up at 2 in the morning. Which it didn't. It meant waking them up at _3_ in the morning. He went up the stairs and opened his moms’ bedroom door. 

“Mom… I'm home.” He was so quiet they were barely able to hear him, but the sound of his voice was enough. Sina woke immediately and nudged Natia, then grabbed her phone to tell Naomi and Mika, who were both away at school, but made her swear to tell them if they weren't there when he got back.

They were definitely awake despite the time. Last time, he'd been just a few inches shorter than Sina, and he was now taller. Not by much, but he was definitely taller.

“I missed you so much.”

“We missed you too, Sara.” Seven years ago, the nickname bothered him. It was too similar to everyone making fun of his name. Now, it was a mark that he was truly home.

The next morning, Mika was flying in. Naomi had an important test at the end of the week and would be coming in when she was done. Of course, that didn't mean she didn't talk to him.

“I wish I could be there now. Five years… But if I miss this I'll fail my course.”

“Say it's a family emergency. They'll listen.”

“Then I'll have to come back here earlier. It's good to know you're home waiting for me though. And anyway, it's been five years. What's a few more days?”

They talked for almost another hour, Elisara hanging up just before Mika walked in.

“Eli!” He hugged him, hiding his face in his chest.

“Hey… missed you babe.” He still wasn't sure if Mika had found someone else. They hadn't promised anything when he left, given that he didn't know how long it would be. The split second before Mika responded was the most nervous he'd been in his life, and he'd dealt with some nerve wracking stuff.

“I missed you too.” He leaned up and kissed him gently, a small smile on his face. “Five years. I was starting to get worried you weren't coming home.”

He told stories for awhile, but for the most part everyone was listening because his absence had created a hole that he and his words were now filling.

Naomi came home three days later. “Sara!” He’d fallen asleep on the couch the night before, Mika on top of him. He’d been awake for a few hours, the TV playing in the background so he had something to pay attention to.

“Hey. Quiet, Mika’s still asleep.” Mika shifted a little as Naomi leaned down and awkwardly hugged Elisara in the space that wasn’t taken up. She sat on the floor despite the multiple open chairs, leaning against the couch so she could be closer to him.

“What’re you watching?”

“News, I think. I’m not really watching it, it was just too quiet in here.” For the past seven years, quiet meant that he was alone. It meant he was alone in his room, unable to sleep, worrying about if he and his friends were going to die the next day. Obsessing over if his family thought he wasn’t going to come back.

She joined him in vaguely watching, neither speaking, just enjoying the presence of each other.

_“--emerging from what appears to be a large robotic lion.”_

Elisara looked over at the TV, only to see Red lifting off again, and Shiro approaching the reporters. They’d talked about it before leaving - Shiro wasn’t going to be heading into space anymore. Voltron’s power was only really needed specifically to defeat Zarkon, the rest could be handled with 4 lions. The universe knew they could still be called on, and some actually had scheduled dates in a few years of a celebration of a decade of liberation from the Galra and wanted them to be there. Keith would drop him off, then catch up with Lance, who stayed behind at the castle to help clear everything out of the castle. What they hadn’t planned on, but did know was a possibility, was the press coverage.

_“--Takashi Shirogane, better known simply as ‘Shiro’, thought to be dead after the failed Kerberos mission.”_

_Shiro smiled a little as every reporter approached him, hurling questions at him._

_“I’m clearly not dead. Neither are Sam and Matt Holt. The three students said to be dead seven years ago, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk, are all alive as well.”_

Naomi looked up at him for a moment. “Hunk? Really?”

“Hey, Lance was the one who flirted with me and said I should change my name in the same sentence.”

_”It’s a long story. I mean, it has been nine years now. I can’t be sure if the Galaxy Garrison even knows anything about this, but if they do there’s no reason to hide it anymore.”_


	3. Chapter 3

Questions were being yelled at him from every direction. Occasionally, he could clearly hear one or two.

“I’m clearly not dead. Neither are Sam and Matt Holt. The three students said to be dead seven years ago, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk, are all alive as well.”

“Where have you been? What was that ship?”

”It’s a long story. I mean, it has been nine years now. I can’t be sure if the Galaxy Garrison even knows anything about this, but if they do there’s no reason to hide it anymore. Aliens are real. I’ve been living with them. Fighting with some and against others.”

“Why were you gone for so long?”

“We had to take down an empire that had ruled for 10,000 years. It’s amazing it went as quickly as it did, really. The Galra were incredibly powerful, but their reign has come to an end. I worked with the other Garrison staff and students who disappeared, as well as the last two known surviving Alteans. The one thing the Galra weren’t prepared for was that combination.”

“If aliens know we’re here, won’t they come to invade?”

“No. Most aliens are peaceful. Every liberated planet joined an alliance, and it was ensured that Earth would be protected under that alliance. Earth is in no danger. We’re actually safer now. The Galra came in as close to us as Kerberos, maybe closer.”

Questions kept being fired at him, and he kept answering them nearly effortlessly. After nearly an hour of this, Commander Iverson arrived and interrupted the whole thing. It had gone on long enough. The world knew their story now, just as the rest of the universe did. The oddest part was that Iverson didn’t seem at all angry.

The garrison had a separate interview with him. The word was out - it was too late to change that. Which meant something new for the garrison that only Shiro could teach.

Soon enough, he was hired as both the director of interplanetary communications and as teacher of the same subject. Usually, they wouldn’t hire one person in two high positions, but he was the only one who could do either.

A week after he landed, he went to go see Ali. He smiled when he opened the door, stepping forward and pulling him into a hug. “Hey. I missed you.” he mumbled. 

Ali immediately curled into the hug. “Shiro…” he closed his eyes, remembering their last moment together. It had been five years since he’d kissed his oldest friend. Five years since he left without a word. And when Ali saw him on the news but got no visit from him, he assumed Shiro wanted nothing to do with him. Until now.

“Ali, I’m so sorry I had to leave.” He pulled back just enough to look at him, staring lovingly. “I’m so sorry…”

Ali led Shiro inside, closing the door behind them. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m the one who made it uncomfortable. You had to go finish saving the universe.”

“Yeah, I did. Which is why I couldn’t do what I wanted to then.” He stepped forward and kissed Ali again, for the second time in their lives, and the first time in five years.

That night, he slept curled up next to Ali. He also woke up as he had every night for what felt like forever now - gasping for breath and crying. He shot up, looking around the room in a panic. When someone touched his shoulder, he nearly attacked them. Then he realized who it was.

“Shiro, what’s wrong?” Ali was gentle with him, carefully pulling him closer to lean against him.

Shiro whined quietly, leaning against Ali for a moment before turning and curling up in his arms, hiding his face against Ali’s chest. He usually handled this himself, mostly with techniques that had been taught to him when he was young. Lately, those techniques had stopped working. He fell asleep like that nearly an hour later.

It repeated every night. He fell asleep next to Ali, woke in the middle of the night, and fell asleep again on top of him. It was only a week before he started going to sleep at the beginning of the night with his head on Ali’s chest, the comfort of a familiar heartbeat holding off the worst of the nightmares. Occasionally he’d still be woken up by them, but not nearly as often anymore.

It had been months now, and the nightmares weren’t getting much better. Doctors didn’t seem to know how to help him. After all, he was one of the few people on Earth who had experienced any of this, and the only one who had the combination of experiences he did. His interrupted and generally unrestful sleep was starting to affect his job, though most of those he was communicating with understood. They had met him before, after all, and knew what he had been through.

It was nearly a year before he was almost always sleeping through the night without nightmares. That wasn't to say he didn't have problems. One night after nearly two months with no sleep problems, he woke up and “escaped” from their house, only to fully realize what was going on ten minutes later in the middle of a nearby park with Ali running up to him. He couldn't help but get frustrated with himself. He was 35 now, he felt like he shouldn't be acting like this. Ali was patient though, perfectly fine with sitting in the park with him, just holding him until he calmed down again.

“You'll feel better at home.” Ali stood and helped Shiro up. “You think you'll be able to go to work in the morning?”

Shiro nodded and started home, holding Ali's hand. He didn't speak at all until they were back home in bed. “I love you.” He curled up against Ali, listening to his heartbeat as he fell asleep.

Ali smiled, kissing the top of his head. “Love you too, Shiro.”


	4. Chapter 4

Keith and Lance landed their lions on the same island as last time, following the same procedure as before. They’d fashioned some clothes for Keith out of spare material in the castle, he tied his hair back carefully and put up his hood, knowing that he looked… well, odd to say the least. They arrived at the house mid-day, Mari nearly tackling Lance in a hug. Noé stared at Keith, who looked down at him. And everyone else.

“Dude, you got _huge_!”

“Yeah, playing with hormones will do that to a Galra, I guess.” He explained what they’d found out in space, and Noé stared up at him in awe.

“You mean that exists? That’s… that’s real?”

Keith smiled and nodded. Noé had only been 15 last time they saw him. Now he was 20, and if he looked for it, Keith could see a strip of binder under his shirt. “Maybe we can get you out there at some point.”

They were led inside and Lance’s mom started asking questions. Again. She, of course, had seen Shiro on the news. They spent a good chunk of the day just answering questions, then Noé told Lance about some of the new video games that were out, and that was it for discussion.

Lance sat on Keith’s lap as he played, Keith switching between watching the screen and watching what Lance was actually doing. As Lance lost again - _hey, you’ve had practice, it’s all new to me_ \- he sighed and leaned back against Keith. “You wanna try?” He looked up at them, just tilting his head back against their chest.

“I’ve never actually played a videogame before.” Of course he hadn’t. He didn’t have siblings, at least not that he knew of. He hadn’t really had friends growing up, then went and isolated himself in his desert shack.

“So what you’re telling me is that I have to teach you the controls and Noé better go easy on you.” He held up the controller, and when Keith took it he gave a brief explanation of what everything did. “You just gotta remember that some games are weird and flip stuff around. But this is pretty standard.”

Against all odds, Keith beat Noé in the first round. Then the second. Then the third.

“Dude, you’ve never touched a controller before? How are you beating me?”

“It’s just patterns and reaction time. It’s not that hard.” Keith shrugged, looking over at Noé. “Those are kinda my thing anyway.”

Lance smiled and turned, kissing Keith gently. “You’re amazing. You know that, right?”

//

“Lance, you awake?” He felt Lance shift in his arms, then heard a quiet hum indicating that while Lance might technically be awake, he wasn’t really. They sighed quietly, closing their eyes and trying to sleep. He hadn’t been sleeping well lately, even with Lance’s presence. He was worried - it’d been getting worse since his growth spurt. Maybe something had gone wrong and the hormone levels weren’t balanced right. Before he had a chance to worry too much, Lance rolled over and draped one arm over him. They hesitated for a moment, then rolled over to face the wall, Lance against their back. 

He was asleep a minute later.

The next morning as Mari passed their room, she couldn’t help but snicker. They were cuddling, which was entirely normal for a couple. Especially one that had been together as long as they had. But Keith, who was over a foot taller than Lance and had the bulk to match, was acting as the little spoon. The two of them slept until nearly noon, when Keith walked out of the room and wandered into the kitchen.

He quickly found himself something to eat, but stopped when he realized Noé was staring at him. “What?”

“You’re purring.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s a Galra thing. Lance thinks it’s cute.”

“Of course he does, he’s a furry.”

Keith laughed, just a chuckle at first but soon he was laughing hard enough that he had to lean against the counter. He managed to compose himself to speak nearly a full two minutes later.

“When Lance called it cute the first time, Hunk told him not to be a furry. Two years and he still hasn’t lived it down. Pidge and Matt still call him and me Furry and Fuzzy.”

Noé’s eyes lit up and he jumped up, rushing over to Lance’s room. Keith saw Lance come chasing after him a moment later, then glared at Keith. “You… you told him, didn’t you?”

“Hey, he called you a furry first.”


	5. Chapter 5

Allura and Coran were initially unsure what they were going to do. They didn't have a planet to go to. They planned to explore the galaxy, get more planets in the alliance. Then they discovered what they thought was impossible.

“Coran, is that an Altean vessel?”

“It is. That's Eryiz’s ship.” He tried not to get his hopes up, but the ship looked relatively undamaged. That particular ship had enough cryopods to preserve the whole crew, and with the war going on he had no doubt they would preserve the next in line for the throne.

“So there may be more Alteans…”

Coran nodded, already going to get ready to explore the ship. Allura had to get them close enough, but soon enough the two of them were aboard the vessel. The moment it was clear no traps had been set, Coran started running. The center of the ship held the cryopods. That was where they needed to be.

By the time Allura caught up to him, Coran had already raised all full pods and was counting them. He turned to her, smiling. “154. Enough to safely have multiple generations of children. Altea may be gone, but we have our people, Princess.”

She looked at the numerous pods surrounding them. Some were small, specifically designed for children for the case of necessary evacuation. The crew made up 140. 13 pods held young children. The final one held the rightful ruler of Altea, Alfor’s younger brother. 

Coran looked to Allura, who simply nodded. There was a way to open all the pods at once, but 154 people, all suddenly awake and confused didn't seem like a good idea. So he opened one. The one he knew to hold Eryiz. He opened the pod and stood in front of it, essentially catching the man who stumbled out of it.

//

“Sire, Zarkon has attacked Altea. The planet has been destroyed. Everyone inside the castle is presumed dead. ”

_The planet has been destroyed._

Everyone was gone. Apparently they’d been right to send a ship off planet. Everyone who had remained was dead. Nearly every citizen of Altea was dead. 

_Everyone inside the castle is presumed dead._

Alfor, King of Altea and Eryiz’s older brother, was dead. Allura, who he’d tried to bring with them but couldn’t due to her stubbornness, was dead. And Coran, who he had begged to come with him, who had refused as his duty was to the King, his Coran, was gone. He was the only ruler left for Altea. No - for Alteans. Altea didn’t exist anymore. It was gone. Everything any of them knew and loved was gone. Every Altean who wasn’t on this ship, gone.

But he was their ruler now. Not yet King, at least not officially. But he was their ruler. And he knew what he had to do to preserve their people. The vessel was unarmed, they had no chance in a fight. He had to hope that whoever stumbled across them had good intentions.

He was the last one to enter a cryopod. He had kept up appearances until he was alone. Now, his hands shook as he set the delay on the final pod. _He’s gone. They’re all gone. Your brother, your niece, your husband, everyone. Gone._ As the pod closed, he started crying silently and closed his eyes. He could pretend he didn’t think this would be forever that way. It was just a rest. _They’re gone. This is the only choice. Live without them. Live without him._

//

 _Live without him. Move on, it’s what he would want._ He was awake. He stepped forward, stumbling into someone before he could get anywhere. He opened his eyes and looked up at the man he’d fallen into the arms of.

“Coran?” He stood up straighter, processing what he was so sure was wrong. Coran was standing there, pulling him into a tight hug. Allura was at the controls for the cryopods, seemingly trying to determine which ones to open next. They were alive, and they were here.

“Coran… you were presumed dead. Both of you were. Is-”

“I’m sorry. Alfor is gone. We thought we were the only Alteans alive.”

Eryiz finally reached up and hugged Coran back, curling closer to him. “Allura, wait.”

She had been about to open a few more pods. She had sorted them all by family, so no parent had to wait to see their child, and no child had to wait to see their parent.

“I should know what’s going on first. They won’t know the difference.” He pulled back from Coran, but held his hand. He wasn’t much younger than him, but of himself, Alfor, and Coran, he was the youngest. Now, his age showed. He was scared, the trembling from before he entered the pod not yet faded. Coran put an arm around his waist, leading him out of the room and gesturing for Allura to follow.

They sat at a small table, Eryiz leaning against Coran, Allura sitting across from them.

“What are the plans for handling Zarkon?”

Coran looked at Allura for just a second, both of them realizing in that instant what they should have known from experience. In Eryiz’s mind, no time had passed. The war had just begun, he had just lost his brother, and within just a few moments lost and regained his husband and niece.

“Zarkon is dead. We’ve won the war.” Allura spoke softly as Coran held him, doing his best to keep him calm.

“You- you won? How?”

“We had Voltron. It was quite a shock to us as well. Five people from Earth came into the castle, which my father had set to land on Arus. They had found, and one piloted, the blue lion. They discovered us and we found the rest of the lions, and the lions accepted each of them.”

Eryiz stared at Allura, smiling. “How long has it been?”

“We were in the pods for over 10,000 years. After the humans arrived, it only took us another seven to defeat them. They were incredibly smart. One of them invented and implemented cloaking first for her own lion, then for Voltron as a whole.”

“10,000 years…”

Allura looked down for a moment. A light was flashing on her suit - a call. “I apologize, Uncle, this may be important.”

She pressed a button and Kolivan’s face appeared. “Kolivan. Can we make this fast?” Eryiz visibly tensed behind the screen. Allura looked past the screen to him. “Kolivan is a member of the Blade of Marmora, a team of Galra who rebelled against Zarkon. He poses no danger.”

Kolivan just hesitated for a moment. “It has been decided that the Blade of Marmora should be disbanded. Our extreme approach was necessary during war, but now would only be harmful.”

“That does seem to be a good plan. Is that all?”

“I am actually calling because we cannot find anywhere to live. Many do not wish to allow us to live with them, and as Daibazaal was destroyed we do not currently have a planet to go to.”

“Surely you understand their reasoning. Their people were enslaved and killed by the Galra for generations, their wariness is natural.”

“I do understand. We all do. I was simply hoping you would have an idea.”

Allura sat and thought about it for a moment, then Eryiz stood up and walked over. “Actually, I do.”


End file.
